Electric-wire-terminal clip.



vJ. H. KABSBN.

ELEGTRIO WIRE TERMINAL OLII.

APPLIUATION FILED DBO. 2, 1910.

Patenied Oct. 17, 1911;.

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A TTORNEYS,

' Touall 'whom 'lltv may concern:

TULIUS H. .KAIESENv OF NEW YORK, N. Y;

ELECTRIC-WIRE-TERMINAL CLIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

Application 1ed December 2, 1910. Serial No. 595,214.

Be it known that I, JULiUs H. KAESEN, a

'citizen of the United States of America, re-

sidingat New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a: new and useful Electric vire Terminal Clip, of which the following is a specification.

l() --of electric conductors, and more particularly My invention relates to improvements in connecting clips or devices for the terminals to devices which are utilized for the purpose of connecting electric conductors'with sparkplugs in internal vcombustion-engines of the ordinary type, although the application of said invention is not limited to spark-plugs but is quite general in its scope.

This invention consists essentially of an internally screw-threaded sleeve, and an externally screw-threaded member in such sleeve, which interior member is provided at one terminal with certain peculiar means for attaching the electric conductor thereto, and at the other terminal with certain peculiar means for securing the device to a wire,

binding-post, central electrode, or other y member with which electrical connection is 'y desired, such last-mentioned means being operated by said sleeve when actuated on said interior member through the medium of the Screw-threads,all as hereinafter set forth.

The objects of my invention are, first, to

- produce asimple, durable and comparatively inexpensive device for attaching an electric conductor to and detaching it from the centrai electrode of a spark-plug or to the binding-post `of a telegraph, telephone, or other electrical instrument or apparatus, such conductor'' being permanently attached to said device; second, to provide in sucha device lfor .absolute electrical connections at both ends, or with the electric conductor and with .ment," and obviatingthe annoyance caused thereby, and, third, to provide a device of this kindthat can be easily and quickly opk v@heated-or manipulated for attachment to or detachment from the member with which it .is used` as a connecting medium for the. conductoror w1re.

. .Other objects Will appear in the course of the following description.

I attain these objects by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a clip which embodies a practical form of my invention, the same having an electric conductor secured thereto and being itself attached to a spark-plug; Fig. 2, a fragmentary view of parts of said clip` and of a slightly different spark-plug, the two being connected as in the preceding. view; Fig. 3, an interior view of the clip, the sleeve being in section; Fig. 4, an interior view of the' clip taken at rightangles to the preceding view, the sleeve and parts of the internal, vthreaded member being in section, and the conductor being omitted; Fig. 5, a cross-section on lines 5 5, looking in the direction of the associated arrow, in Fig. .4; Fig. 6, a rear or inner end elevation of said internal, threaded member;

Fig. 7, an interior view of a moditied'form of clip, the sleeve being in section, and, Fig. 8, a similar View taken at right-angles to Fig. 7. f

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In each of Figs. 1 and 3 a short piece yoit an electric conductor appears at 1 and its insulation at 2. l n

As already noted, my improved terminal or connecting clip, although it may be used in connection with electrical apparatus. in

general, is especially designed for use in connection with spark-plugs of internal-combustion engines, hence by Way of illustration sa1d clip 1s represented in yeach of two cases as being appliedto a spark-plug. Only the upper portion of a spark-plug is shown in each case, such portion consisting, in Fig. l, of a fragment of an insulator 3 and of a central electrode 4 therein, a cap 5 on Vsuch insulator, and a clamping-nut 7 threadedto the upper protruding terminal of'such electrode, and, in Fig. 2, of the insulator and electrode, as before, and a cap 8 which has a headed binding-post 9 at the to Giving attention now to the clip itself, it may bev observed first that the same com prises an internally screw-threaded sleeve 10, usually although not imperatively necessary of fibrous or other suitable insulating material, an externally screw-threaded member threads in engagement vwith the sleeve V4o fastener.

screw-threads, a fastener 12 at the inner end of said body for the conductor 1, and a pair of gripping or clamping members or jaws 13 at the outer terminal of said body, 5 said jaws being adapted to engage or release a spark-plug terminal member, such as the central electrode 4 between the cap 5 and the clamping-nut 7, as in Fig. 1, or the headed binding-post 9, as in Fig. 2, or a binding-post or equivalent terminal member of some other electrical device, accordingly as the sleeve is screwed in the directionto advance it or in the direction to re- `tract it. The body 11 and its parts or mem- 15 bers, including the fastener 12 and the jaws ,13, are made of metal which, 1s a good con ductor of electricity.

Preferably the sleeve vlOlis screw-threaded throughout its entire length, so that the body 11 can be introduced at either end. The interior diameter of the sleeve 10 is of a size which will permit said sleeve to be slipped over the insulation 2.

For the body 11 I prefer to employ a member having flat sides and screwthreaded edges, substantially as shown in the drawings, which fits the sleeve 10 and can be screwed in or out of such sleeveor enables the latter to be screwed inl either direction thereon.

- The form of fastener l2, represented in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6, consists of a strip 14 riveted at 15 to one side of the member or body 11, and extending beyond the inner .55 ,end of said body to be bent over or doubled upon itself to produce, with a screw 16, the fastener proper. The screw 16 passes through the lip of the fastener 12 and is tapped into the main stem portion of .said

The exposed end of the conductor 1 is'received in the loop at theinner terminal of the strip 14, and is securely clamped therein by` means -of the screw 16. In practice, the sleeve 10 is first placed on the insulation 2, then while the screw 16 is loose the terminal Iof the conductor 1 which has been freed from said insulation is passed through the aforesaid loop and said screw is tightened, and finally said sleeve is slipped forward and screwed on to the body 11. In this manner and by this means jthe. clip is securely attached to the conductor and the joint between them is hidden. Although the connection between the 05 conductor 1 and the clip'is of a permanent vnature and may be permanent, nevertheless, the parts can be easily and quickly disconnected, if for any reasonl disconnection be desired, by unscrewing the sleeve from 50 the bodyandsliding said sleeve along on the insulation away from said body, loosening the screw 16, and withdrawing said conductor from the loop vof the fastener 12. The loop of the strip 14 is notched at its innerv end, as indicated at 17, to afford a tions or -shanks of these'jaws are received end of said body, and vthe inner ends of' vflat jaws and so relieves the sleeve from better fastening member and bearing for 'the conductor. f

The jaws 13, in the construction shown in Figs. l, 2, 3, 4 and 5, are flat, they lie in the same plane, and their interior or adjacent edges, near the outer ends of said jaws, are notched, indented or recessed, as represented at 18, to enable the jawswhen closed not only to grasp firmly'an object between them, such as the electrode 4 or the I 75' binding-post 9, but also to ,insure a good electrical contact. The inner terminal porin a central slot 19 in the body 11, which slot opens` through the edges andl the outer said shanks are pivoted at 20 to the body. The cuter edges of the jaws l3'are curved outwardly, adjacent to thefront end of the body 1l and consequently .to the correspond 35 ing end or edge of the sleeve 10, tov form cam edges or surfaces 21-21. Said cam surfaces receive the thrust from the sleeve 10 when itis advanced, or from an interpcsed follower 22, with the result that the jaws swinging on t/heir pivots 20 are forced closer and closer together as said sleeve advances. In this way the jaws are closed' tightly upon a spark-plug or other terminal, and they are released from such terminal by retracting the sleeve and thus permitting said jaws to separate or open.

The follower 22 may be merely a disk of sulicient diameterto cover the frontend f l of the sleeve 10, and slotted at 23 to receive 100 the Shanks of the jaws 13. This follower acts directly on the cam surfaces 21 of the such action or from direct contact with said surfaces, wherefore said sleeveis lprotected from wear and the jaws are operated with greater facility; moreover, the follower serves as a closure for the front end of the sleeve, and so prevents dirt, dust, and other foreign substances from getting into the same, and enhances the appearance of the clip. Nevertheless, the flat jaws may be' used quite successfully without the follower. The pivots 20 are inserted in the body 1l and extend across the slot 19 in such body and through the Shanks of the jaws 13 in such slot.

The clip that appears in Figs. 7 and 8 is slightly cheaper perhaps than the other, alj though the construction of the former is not radically different from that of the latter. A resilientimetallic strip 24 is here used, such strip being bent double and'receiving between its major or 'body., portions the member 11. The aforesaid body portions of 125 the strip 24 are riveted to the member 11 at 25. The middle part of the strip 24 is looped and provided with a screw 16 to form the fastener 12 at the innerendof the member 11, and the outer terminals of said strip are bent into suitable shape to form the jaws 13 with their cam surfaces 21.- The Amanner as has already been explained in connection with the clip shown in the other views, and the jaws of theFigs. 7 and 8 clip are closed by advancing the sleeve and o ened or permitted to open by retracting t e sleeve, the operation being practically the same as before, only in the last illus- `trated example the jaws being resilient open themselves when released by the sleeve, while in the other examples the jaws' do not 'so open. The. functional difference just pointed out between the resilient land nonresilient jaws is 'not of particular moment.

' I am aware that various other changes and modifications in the shape, size, and construction of some or all ofthe parts of my clip,

scribe suchas willoccur to others skilled in the art to-which said clip belongs, may

be made without departing fromthe nature of my invention, wherefore I desire to include all such changes and modifications and to cover them by my claims.

` What I claim as my invention, and dev sire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

, 1. An electric-wire terminal clip" comprisg ing a sleeve o en atboth ends, and a member in said s eeve in threaded engagement therewith, Such interior member being pro.

- vided at one vterminal with a fastener for an electric conductor, and at'the other terminal with protruding gripping members having parts which extend beyond the adjacent edge of said sleeve, so that said gripping members are actuated toward each .other besides those herein sh`0wn andy de#4 when saidV sleeve is advanced onsaid interlor member.

2. The combinatlon, in an electrlc-wire terminal clip, with an exterior sleeve, of an interior member in threaded engagement with said sleeve, such interior member belngv provided at one terminal with a fastener for an electric conductor, and at the other terminal with gripping members having cam surfaces and arranged and adapted to be actuated toward each other whensaid sleeve is advanced on said interior member.

3.' The combination, in an electric-wire terminal clip, with an exterior sleeve, of an interior member in threaded engagement bwith said sleeve and provided at its outer terminal with gripping members, and at its innerterminal with a loop and a screw arranged to secure an electric conductor to the adjacent end of said interior member.

4L The combination,V in an electric-wire terminal clip, with an exterior sleeve, of an interior member in threaded. engagement with said sleeve and provided at its inner terminal with a fastener for an electric conductor, and a pair of gripping members,

havin cam surfaces, pivotally attached to said p ugat its outer terminal and arranged and adapted to be actuated toward' each other when said sleeve is advanced on said interior member. i

A5. The combination, in an electric-wire terminal clip, of an exterior sleeve, an interior member in threaded engagement with said sleeve, a loop and a screwat the inner l terminal of said interior member to form a fastener for an electric conductor, and a pair of gripping members, having cam surfaces, pivotallv attached to said interior member and adapted to be actuated toward.- each other when said sleeve is advanced on said interior member. Y

' JULIUS H. KAESEN.

Witnesses: I

JOHN MAoGRneon, F. A. GUTTER.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the (iommissioner of Patents.

' Washington, D. G. v 

